Questions & Answers about هذا مطعم فرنسي.
Where is the word for 'is' in this sentence?
In Arabic, you do not use a word for 'is' or 'are' in simple present-tense sentences. You just put the subject and the information together. So, saying هذا (this) directly followed by مطعم فرنسي (French restaurant) automatically means 'This is a French restaurant.'
Why does فرنسي (French) come right after مطعم (restaurant)?
In Arabic, describing words (adjectives) always come after the noun they describe. Instead of saying 'a French restaurant' like in English, the Arabic word order is literally 'a restaurant French'.
How do we know to use هذا (this) instead of the feminine version?
The word هذا is the masculine word for 'this'. We use it here because مطعم (restaurant) is a masculine noun. If we were talking about a feminine noun, we would have to use the feminine version, which is هذه.
How do we know it means 'a' French restaurant when there is no word for 'a'?
Arabic does not have an equivalent for the English words 'a' or 'an'. When a noun like مطعم does not have the prefix ال (the) attached to the beginning of it, it is usually understood as being indefinite, which means we add 'a' or 'an' when translating it into English.
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